The story of Samson with his strength and struggles is a well-known one, a favorite of Sunday school kids. But the setup of Samson’s story shouldn’t be overlooked. The author uses the characters of Manoah and his wife to play with gender stereotypes and the different ways people experience God.
Read chapter 13 closely and you’ll see that the angel appears to Manoah’s wife twice and she must fetch Manoah to include him in the second meeting, despite the fact Manoah wanted the angel to appear to him. The angel’s focus remains on Manoah’s wife and how she is to act, even when Manoah tries to control everyone’s actions and conversation – maybe an early example of mansplaining?
Manoah is skeptical of what is happening; his wife takes the angel’s words at face value. Finally, Manoah’s response when he realized he saw an angel was fear of death while his wife reassured her husband using logic. The contrast between Manoah and his wife highlights the variety of ways people react to God.
But even with these well-drawn characters, the story’s real focus remains God. Even though the Israelites hadn’t asked God to save them, he sends a rescuer anyway. Only God’s intervention will give an infertile woman a baby. The identity of the angel is a riddle that is gradually solved when he is described first as a “man of God,” then “angel of God,” and finally “God.”
It doesn’t take a biblical scholar to see the parallels of Samson’s story with Jesus’!
Jesus’ birth was unexpected and completely outside human experience. His identity was disputed – Jesus was called a prophet, a teacher, a deceiver, and Messiah.
And God sent a rescuer to people who didn’t think they needed or wanted rescuing.
God is willing to work with the skeptical, the logical, the overlooked, the overconfident, and everyone in between – which means God wants you to experience his love and offer a new life!
Questions for reflection:
- How do you describe your personality? Can you name any characters in the Bible who have a similar personality? How does God interact with them?
- How would you like to experience God’s presence in your life? Take a moment to ask God to make you more aware of how he is present with you.